The Elephant Chaser's Daughter by Shilpa Raj

Author:Shilpa Raj [Raj, Shilpa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shilpa Raj
Published: 2017-09-13T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN: TALK OF MARRIAGE

For some strange reason, I had turned to the tranquility of the village for comfort that morning. But peace was fleeting with the sounds of the village hurrying to life rose with the dawn. People were rushing to work in the fields and elsewhere on foot, bicycles, and bullock carts. Those struggling to make a living couldn’t afford to stay home once the sun came up.

Early on the last evening of my vacation, Grandmother called me over for a private conversation by the kitchen. To my surprise, Grandfather was also there. He usually returned only after sunset but today he was home before dark. It had to be something important.

Patting the ground near him, he signaled me to sit facing them. ‘What is it, Thatha?’ I asked, plucking nervously at a knot in my hair.

They glanced at each other like children hiding secrets from their parents. Grandmother, as usual, was the one to break the silence. Making no effort to hide her excitement, she blurted out, ‘Shilpa, after you finish tenth grade, you will marry your Naresh mama.’

‘Marry Naresh Mama?’ I exclaimed, the weight of her words failing to sink in.

‘Yes, Shilpa.’ Grandmother raised her eyebrows at my look of confusion.

I laughed, certain they could not really be serious. The thought of me marrying my uncle was as revolting as Grandfather slaughtering a hen we had raised since it was a chick.

But Grandmother was persistent. ‘Your mother wants you to marry him. Thatha and I spoke to her.’ She relayed this information with the casual tone of a teacher announcing weekly test results. Still, there was urgency in her voice. ‘She asked us not to wait any longer to tell you.’ They were studying my face intensely.

I realized with dread that my grandparents were not joking. ‘Grandmother, what are you saying? You know I can’t marry my uncle.’

Maybe she had imagined I would jump with joy and hug her. She knew I was fond of her youngest son and preferred his company to my other uncles who often scolded me for being too talkative. She was certain I would consent and had been looking forward to announcing the happy news to her son and the rest of the family.

Turning to Grandfather, she snapped angrily, ‘How dare she talk like this?’ Without waiting for him to reply, she returned to me. ‘Shilpa, it was decided before you were born that the first granddaughter in the family would marry my youngest son.’ She looked straight into my eyes. ‘He loves you more than he ever loved any other girl in the village.’

Nothing she said made sense to me. Desperately seeking support, I turned to Grandfather. ‘Thatha, how can I marry Naresh Mama?’ Mrs. Law’s face flashed before my eyes, and DG’s voice telling us to stand up to our families when they were wrong rang in my head. I wished they were here to protect me from my own family. ‘It is bad. How can I marry a

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